1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to dual-bearing reels; in particular to dual-bearing reels whose spool is removable from the handle-mounting side.
2. Description of Related Art
Dual-bearing reels conventionally are furnished with a reel body having a handle, a spool fitted rotatively in the reel body, and a cranking mechanism that transmits handle rotation to the spool. A clutch mechanism that connects/disconnects the handle and the spool is provided in the cranking mechanism. The clutch mechanism is operated between its connected state (CLUTCH-ON state) and its disconnected state (CLUTCH-OFF state) by a clutch-operating handle.
Among this type, dual-bearing reels provided with two operating handles are known: a clutch-off operating handle for CLUTCH-OFF; and a clutch-on operating handle for CLUTCH-ON. In this sort of dual-bearing reel, the CLUTCH-OFF operating handle is provided on the rear of the reel body, and the CLUTCH-ON operating handle is provided forward of and above the clutch operating handle. The two operating handles are linked by a linking member. In the past, this sort of conventional dual-bearing reel having two operating handles has been made so that the spool is attached/removed through the side of the reel body opposite the handle-mounting side.
With the foregoing conventional configuration, in performing maintenance an the mechanisms provided on the handle-mounting side, such as the cranking mechanism and the clutch mechanism, when the side cover on the handle-mounting side is opened, the clutch-operating handles and the linking member get scattered disassembling. Maintenance work an the handle-mounting side is therefore hard to do.
An object of the present invention is to facilitate maintenance on the handle mounting side interior in a dual-bearing reel having two clutch-operating handles for performing different clutch operations.
A dual-bearing reel in terms of a first aspect of the invention mounts onto a fishing rod, is a reel that retrieves fishing line turning on a spindle along an axis that intersects the fishing rod longitudinally, and is furnished with: a reel body; a line-winding spool; a handle; a cranking mechanism; a clutch mechanism; a first clutch-operating handle: a second clutch-operating handle, a linking member; and a clutch-switching device. The reel body is what mounts onto a fishing rod, and includes; first and second side plates disposed in opposition separated by a spacing in the direction of the intersecting axis; connectors that connect the two side plates; a first side cover that attaches removably onto the first side plate for covering the first side plate outwardly; as well as a mechanism-mounting plate that attaches removably to the first side cover, where between it and the first side cover is a mechanism mounting space. The line-winding spool is fitted rotatively in the reel body, disposed between the two side plates. The handle, turning on an axis parallel with the spool rotational center axis, is rotatively fitted on the reel body, projecting from the first side cover to the exterior. The cranking mechanism, provided in the mechanism mounting space, is a mechanism for transmitting handle torque to the spool. The clutch mechanism is provided along the way in the rotation-transmitting course of the cranking mechanism, and is a device that enables switching between a transmission state in which handle rotation is transmitted to the spool, and a cutoff state that leaves the spool free to rotate. The first clutch-operating handle is a component in between the two side plates mounted so it cannot come off but is free to shift, for working the clutch mechanism to switch it from the transmission state into the cutoff state. The second clutch-operating handle is a component in between the two side plates, separated by a spacing from the first clutch-operating handle and mounted so it cannot come off but is free to shift, for working the clutch mechanism to switch it from the cutoff state into the transmission state. The linking member, provided free to shift within the mechanism mounting space, is removable with respect to the two clutch-operating handles mounted between the two side plates, and is a component that links the two clutch-operating handles cooperatively. The clutch-switching device is provided in the mechanism mounting space, and is a device that, shifting cooperatively with the movement of the linking member, switches the clutch mechanism between the transmission state and the cutoff state.
With this dual-bearing reel, when the first side cover is undone from the first side plate in order to do maintenance work, for example, the mechanism-mounting plate comes off from the first side plate together with the first side cover. Further, because the first and second clutch-operating handles are fitted between the two side plates so that they cannot come off, they remain as is between the two side plates. Still further, because the linking member is provided in the mechanism mounting space, it will not get scattered as long as the mechanism-mounting plate is not undone from the first side plate. Herein, because the two operating handles are fitted between both the side plates so that they cannot come off, and because the mechanism-mounting plate is provided to put the linking member in the mechanism mounting space, opening the first side cover on the handle-mounting side will not scatter the dissembling clutch-operating handles and linking member. Interior maintenance on the handle-mounting side is therefore easier to carry out.
A dual-bearing reel in terms of a second aspect of the invention is a reel as set forth in the first aspect, wherein the linking member has first and second interlocking portions that interlock respectively with the first clutch-operating handle and the second clutch-operating handle. In this case, the two clutch-operating handles are cooperatively linked by both the clutch-operating handles interlocking respectively with the interlocking portions.
A dual-bearing reel in terms of a third aspect of the invention is a reel as set forth in the second aspect, wherein: when the first clutch-operating handle is worked into the cutoff state, the first interlocking portion interlocks with the first clutch-operating handle and the linking member shifts, and the second interlocking portion interlocks with the second clutch-operating handle; and when the second clutch-operating handle is worked into the transmission state, the second interlocking portion interlocks with the second clutch-operating handle and the linking member shifts, and the first interlocking portion interlocks with the first clutch-operating handle and is shifted into the cutoff state. In this case, the configuration is one in which the respective interlocking portions interlock with the respective operating handles unidirectionally only, which simplifies the interlocking structure.
A dual-bearing reel in terms of a fourth aspect is a reel as set forth in any of the first through third aspects of the invention, wherein an aperture through which the spool can be passed is formed in the first side plate. In this case, the clutch-operating handles and the linking member do not disassemble by undoing the first side cover and attaching/removing the spool through the first side plate, making the job of attaching/removing the spool easier.
A dual-bearing reel in terms of a fifth aspect of the invention is a reel as set forth in the fourth aspect, wherein the mechanism mounting plate is removably attached to the first side cover by screws. In this case, the fact that the mechanism mounting plate is held fast simply by the screws means that the mechanism mounting plate can be taken off the first side plate easily.
A dual-bearing reel in terms of a sixth aspect is a reel as set forth in any of the second through fifth aspects of the invention, further provided with an attach-blocking means that blocks attachment of the first side cover when the first clutch-operating handle is an the cutoff-state end and the first interlocking portion is an the transmission-state end. In this case, when the positions of the first clutch-operating handle and the first interlocking portion do not agree, the first side cover cannot be attached to the side plate, which means therefore that they will not be assembled with the positions of the first clutch-operating handle and the linking member wrong.
A dual-bearing reel in terms of a seventh aspect of the invention is a reel as sat forth in any of the first through sixth aspects, further provided with a first urging member that urges the second clutch-operating handle into the cutoff state. In this case, because the second clutch-operating handle is always urged toward the cutoff-state end by the urging member after the operation of working the second clutch-operating handle into the transmission-state end, it is returned to the cutoff-state end. This means that the clutch can be operated with light force when the first clutch-operating handle is worked from the transmission-state into the cutoff-state end, since the second clutch-operating handle does not need to be shifted. Further, because the second clutch-operating handle always shifts into the cutoff-state end when brought out of engagement with the second interlocking portion by undoing the first side cover, when attaching the first side cover, attention need be given only to the engagement of the first interlocking portion and the first clutch-operating handle.
A dual-bearing reel in terms of an eighth aspect is a reel as sat forth in the seventh aspect of the invention, further provided with a second urging member that urges the first clutch-operating handle into the transmission state. In this case, the fact that the first clutch-operating handle moreover is also urged into the transmission state when the first side cover is undone means that the first side cover can be attached without minding about the positions of the two clutch-operating handles.
A dual-bearing reel in terms of a ninth aspect is a reel as set forth in any of the first through sixth aspects of the invention, further provided with a first urging member that urges the second clutch-operating handle into the transmission state. In this case, because the second clutch-operating handle is always urged toward the transmission-state end, the clutch can be operated with light force when working the second clutch-operating handle from the cutoff stats into the transmission-state end. Further, because the second clutch-operating handle always shifts into the transmission-state end when brought out of engagement with the second interlocking portion by undoing the first side cover, when attaching the first side cover, attention need be given only to the engagement of the first interlocking portion and the first clutch-operating handle. This facilitates attaching the first side cover.
A dual-bearing reel in terms of a tenth aspect of the invention is a reel as set forth in any of the first through ninth aspects of the invention, further provided with a clutch restoring mechanism that, when the clutch mechanism is in the cutoff state, restores the clutch mechanism to the transmission state in cooperation with rotation of the handle in the line-retrieving direction. In this case, the clutch may be switched into the transmission state not only by operating the second clutch-operating handle, but also by operating the reel handle in the line-retrieving direction.
From the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art.